Age Cymru says the Government’s response to a report on loneliness could put lives in danger.
The inquiry by the Welsh Assembly’s Health, Social Care and Sport committee heard 75,000 elderly people in Wales regularly feel lonely, which has serious knock-on effects for health.
But the government—while welcoming the report’s recommendations—say they won’t change their strategy until 2019.
Age Cymru, who helped write the report, says this is ‘disappointing’ and will ultimately cost the taxpayer.
The Welsh Assembly published the report into loneliness last week. It assesses the impact that isolation has on the Welsh population, and shows the elderly are one of the most vulnerable groups.
According to the report, cuts to community services like regular bus routes and public toilets mean that elderly people are more afraid to leave their homes. It also says loneliness has a similar effect on health to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day.
Michael Phillips, of Age Cymru says although charities help lonely elderly people in society, current government funding is yearly rather than monthly. This means that they’re uncertain of funding from year to year. They can’t train new staff, and struggle to run long-term projects to involve the elderly in society.
Local services are increasingly under strain as Wales’ average age increases. For example, the elderly outnumbered the young in Cardiff for the first time this year .
The Assembly report suggests more co-operation is needed between councils, the government, charities and communities to ensure that older citizens receive the contact and services they need. This could prevent serious long-term health conditions that lead to bed-blocking.
The report says that the scale of the loneliness problem is reaching crisis point. But current Government plans mean that a new strategy won’t be considered until at least 2019. With current icy weather conditions and many facing a choice between ‘eating and heating’ this Christmas, Age Cymru say this may be too late for some.
